Nathaniel and Matthew Johnson are biking from California to Pennsylvania, stopping to explore the best beer the U.S. has to offer. • Courtesy of Beers N Bikes
Brews, bikes and bros: An experiment for a cause Bradi Musil
Editor-in-Chief More than 5,000 miles, over 60 microbreweries and at least two, hairy dudes — this is the recipe for the adventure of a lifetime. Or, at least, for nine months out of the year. In just over three weeks, UT alumni and brothers Nathaniel and Matthew Johnson will fly to San Francisco, California, to begin their journey biking across the country, raising money for charity and drinking the best beer the United States has to offer. Although the Johnson brothers aren’t the first to bike across the U.S., they are part of a growing community who have coupled the athletic endeavor with a brewery bucket list — extending their expedition well beyond what’s typically accomplished. “See, most people, they usually do it in three to four months,” Nathaniel, the older of the two brothers, said. “But, we’ve actually done longer than we have to because we’ve added
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the breweries. “We wanted to make it unique ... We wanted to make it something special to us and important to us.” The Johnson brothers will start their journey on March 16 when they fly to San Francisco, California. From there, they’ll bike roughly 120 miles a day – about 8 -11 hours of riding — until they reach Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although a 9-month biking quest would be a challenge for any experienced biker, Nathaniel and Matthew are far from amateurs when it comes to travelling, biking or drinking. Nathaniel, who graduated from UT with a degree in nuclear engineering, spent three months cycling around France — traveling all the way from Brussels to Barcelona. He said although the trip proved to be the most difficult three months of his life, afterwards he was hooked. “It was a struggle every day,” Nathaniel said. “Emotionally, physically, it was just exhausting on every aspect. Not knowing where you’re
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going to sleep at night, that’s a toll on itself.” Matthew, who graduated this past December with a degree in communication, previously took a year off of school to visit New Zealand, and on his way back, met up with Nathaniel to spend three weeks riding motorcycles throughout Vietnam. That trip, as well, presented its own unique challenges. “We didn’t speak the language; there were motorcycle crashes; the bikes themselves didn’t work,” Matthew said. “So, we figured a more fun trip would be to cycle across the United States just on our own.” “Hopefully, this will be a little smoother than what we’ve experienced in the past,” Nathaniel added. For their upcoming trip, the Johnson brothers have been deliberate in using their experience to fund more than just great drinking stories. See BEERS N BIKES on Page 4
Tuesday, February 28, 2017